WATCH: Two desperate souls, one nervous breakdown & hours of set model work on Two for the Seesaw

Performances start tonight (12 July 2018) for the long-overdue West End premiere of William Gibson’s 1958 Broadway hit Two for the Seesaw, ahead of an official opening night on 17 July at Trafalgar Studios. Buckland Theatre has been running a terrific behind-the-scenes videos series. Watch interviews with the director, designer and leading man below – and then get booking!

In the 1950s-set Two for the Seesaw, to escape an unhappy marriage, brooding lawyer Jerry relocates from Nebraska to New York City where he meets Gittel, a beatnik dancer from the Bronx whose life is drifting after a number of failed relationships.

Despite their very different backgrounds and personalities, this unlikely couple embark on a bittersweet and tempestuous love affair that forces them to confront, with heartfelt honesty, the very nature of who they are and what they want from love and life.

Two for the Seesaw premiered at Broadway’s Booth Theatre in 1958 when Henry Fonda and then-newcomer Anne Bancroft starred as Jerry and Gittel. In 1962, it was adapted into a Hollywood film, starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley Maclaine with a score by composer and conductor Andre Previn.

Following his Broadway debut withTwo for the Seesaw, author William Gibson won the Tony Award for Best Play for his follow-up, 1959’s The Miracle Worker, which also starred Anne Bancroft. Thatdrama, about the childhood of American deaf-blind author and activist Helen Keller, was also adapted for the screen, winning an Oscar in 1962.

This brand-new production of Two for the Seesawstars Charles Dorfman and Elsie Bennett as Jerry and Gittel. It’s directed by Gary Condes and marks the West End debut for Buckland Theatre company, building on the success of previous acclaimed runs at London’s Park Theatre for Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s), Murray Schisgal’s LUV and Marius von Mayenburg’s The Ugly One.

Watch: The director

Gary Condes discusses William Gibson‘s story “about two disparate, desperate souls, broken souls, who reach out to each other out of an urban loneliness that they are going through and in need of connection.”

Watch: The leading man

Charles Dorfman introduces his character Jerry Ryan, a Nebraska lawyer in New York who “has taken time out to have a nervous breakdown”.

Watch: The designer

Max Dorey provides insights into the wonders of set models, which he revealed to the company at the first production meeting. How many set models have you seen? “People don’t realise the amount of hours designers physically put into making stuff.”

Watch: Rehearsals

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Related

MyTheatreMates works with a select number of high-quality London and regional productions on Featured Content campaigns. If you'd like your show content featured on our website and social media channels, contact us.